Sorry peach...Thought this was where TAR Media went and I can't stand this Rag writer....I have written and told him what I think of him 2 times, sooooo for what it was worth i wanted you to know he is a pot-stirrer...I like the Detectives, so it wasn't meant to be bad, just to warn you about the writer is what I was trying to do BEFORE it got all out of context...

From what I heard these were still considered aftershocks from the 8.8 quake. The areas closest to the original epicenter moved ten feet (3 meters) to the west; so Chile is now wider than it used to be.

Eight teams started the fifth leg of the sixteenth edition of Amazing Race from a mobile point at a chateau in Epernay, France. With Jeff and Jordan targeted for elimination from their last-place showing on the prior leg, the teams break bread at Defontaine Boulanger in Sainte-Menehould, France; travel to a military base camp in Massiges, France, where they must either tackle Morse Code or an Army Crawl; and confront a blind U-Turn before cycling on a leg of the traditional Tour de France from the Church of Massiges to the pit stop at Wargemoulin-Hurlus.

This is one of those legs where team placements rarely change barring a horrible mistake. Louie and Michael replicate their first place from the previous leg, Steve and Allie continue strong with another second place showing, and the slower teams remain in the back of the pack. The real drama comes from Louie and Michael’s decision to put Joe and Heidi up for elimination with the U-Turn, thus setting up a battle between them and last-place Jeff and Jordan. While Jeff and Jordan handle the speed-bump task of shoring up a trench with ease (their real speed bump is their inability to navigate), in the end — spoiler alert! — Morse Code proves an impossible task and Joe and Heidi are eliminated.

A big error in judgment this leg is Joe’s decision to talk up their team at the back of the bus, which annoyed Louie and Michael to no end. There is nothing to gain from talking yourself up — especially on a crowded bus where everyone can hear you. During our season, my sister and I went into the race with a very specific plan to praise and flatter other people. The original plan was to talk up Jennifer and Preston, but they eliminated themselves quickly. So we talked up Luke for his observational skills, encyclopedic knowledge of the Race, and scary competitiveness. We also talked up Kris for his intimidating physicality.

Fortunately, Luke U-Turned Kris and Amanda, not us. But here, every team knew to avoid the Morse Code task given how hard it would be to learn how to decipher the fast-paced code under a high-stress situation (except perhaps Brandy, who proclaimed that “smart people would do Morse Code” while “dumb people” would crawl in the mud), so it was very likely anyone forced to complete that task would be eliminated. Joe and Heidi’s only mistake, then, was to become Louie and Michael’s target.

Even though Joe and Heidi’s braggadocio led to their elimination, this week’s biggest mistake, though, belongs to Louie and Michael. They correctly understood that if you U-Turn someone, you should plan on landing a lethal blow. But if you’re going to eliminate a team, you should base that decision on your biggest threat, not whom you happen to be most annoyed with. As much as Louie thought Joe needed to be taught a lesson, Joe was limping and his team, while strong, was consistently in the middle. The real threat at this point is either Steve and Allie (who recently found their groove with two consecutive second places) or Jet and Cord (who have two first place finishes). Watching this leg unfold, I couldn’t help but wonder whether Louie and Michael just gave the $1 million to another team.

I’ll close with a couple of random thoughts. Jeff and Jordan — way to survive a rough leg and the speed bump! And a special note to Jordan Pious — I understand from Marcus Lehman (of Survivor: Gabon) that you’re mad I made fun of your manual transmission skills. No worries — I’m not much better! I nearly skidded off the road in Novosibirsk, Russia. I share your pain.

On Sunday’s episode of The Amazing Race, the remaining seven teams started from a military base in Massiges, France, where they drove to Reims to search for a Joan of Arc statue, tackled a cave rappel roadblock at the Leclerk Briant Winery in Epernay, and chose between searching for grapes in a barren vineyard and stacking 680 champagne glasses fifteen levels high, before racing to the pit stop at the Office Regional Culturel de Champagne Ardenne in Epernay.

SPOILER ALERT: Louie and Michael came in first again. Carol and Brandy moved out of obscurity into second place, while Dan and Jordan almost made a move (and were the only team to successfully stack the glasses) before falling back to fourth. Jeff and Jordan needed to race a perfect leg, but could not make it happen and were eliminated. At least they showed gratitude and grace!

The word that kept coming to my mind as I watched was “trust.” First, don’t always trust your instincts — especially when you have no reason to think you’re right! Remember this rule: It is dangerous to assume, because it makes an “a–” out of “u” and “me.” Educators and Sunday school teachers around the world cringed as we realized 1 out of 7 Americans (i.e., Jordan and Caite) think Joan of Arc refers to Noah and his Ark. Fortunately, they are both teamed with people who knew better. Jet and Cord made a costly mistake when they assumed a champagne roadblock must be located in the city of Champagne and took off in the wrong direction.

What really separated the teams this leg was finding the detour location, Champagne Tattinger La Marquetterie. Teams who asked the local tourism office were all sent to the wrong city — Dan and Jordan, Steve and Allie, Jet and Cord, and Jeff and Jordan drive to the Tattinger store in Reims instead of the Tattinger La Marquetterie in Pierry. It would be easy to blame underpaid French tourism employees, but I blame the teams themselves. And so the second lesson — don’t always trust what people tell you. Put it this way: If you were walking down the street in the United States, stop two pretty girls, and ask Jordan and Caite where the nearest Joan of Arc statue was located, you’d end up on a wild-goose chase for Noah’s Ark. So why do teams suddenly trust whatever a random stranger in another country says? Having been there, I know how easy it is to get overexcited when you finally find one person who even pretends to know what you are talking about. I did it all the time. So teams jump as soon as they find someone who recognizes the word “Tattinger.” But a healthy dose of skepticism is needed — and teams should have made sure their sources also recognized the word “Marquetterie.” Teams would have either corrected the mistake or realized that the stranger really didn’t know what they were talking about.

I’m going to give this week’s award for biggest mistake to Jet and Cord, since they had to learn both of this week’s “trust” lessons. That said, I’m really worried about Brent and Caite. The detour highlighted the biggest issue facing their team — they no longer trust each other. As a result, they had a hard time listening to ideas or discussing rationally what decisions to make or how to accomplish the task at hand. If they do not work through those issues quickly, the next leg may be their last.

This week on The Amazing Race, the teams stick around for another dose of French winter. It's freezing at the pit-start, so a warm and cozy Mercedes Benz is quite the treat once the leg starts. Teams leave from Veroun and head to Reims where they find the only outdoor statue of Joan of Arc. A woman playing a singing saw (YouTube it... pretty fascinating) gives them a cork with their next clue on the bottom. Teams go underground for the Roadblock and build upward for the Detour, getting lost every possible chance along the way. At the pit-stop, the teams are greeted by Phil and a French mime, making for a quiet, peaceful ending to a very disoriented leg.

WAIT... YOU GUYS ARE DETECTIVES?

The Race is famous for casting teams with unique but relatable qualities. How often these "titles" come out is up to the racers. Mike and Louie make the most references to their personal life this season. They discuss how their ability to withstand inconsistent sleeping patterns and filthy clothes stems from their days on the force. It's charming, don't get me wrong, but I doubt finding grapes in a vineyard and crack-cocaine in someone's rear-end are really THAT relatable. Dan and I always got a kick out of how Phil tried to relate our being gay with some of the challenges. "So how did being gay brothers help you guys navigate the route this leg?" Well Phil, I'm glad you asked. Reading street signs in Dubai is covered on the first day of gay training.

THE BIG CONFUSION

The obscure clues this week (the cork and the champagne bottle test tube) were definitely pretty tough, especially with the lack of English spoken by the locals. After the Roadblock, the teams must find La Maquetterie Taittanger. Little do they know, there is another Taittanger (not La Maquetterie) in Reims where they started this leg of the Race. The one they are looking for is in Pierry. The majority of the teams go to the wrong location first, so no one's game is completely destroyed by the misdirection. The navigation was so bad this week, I was having trouble keeping track of who was on track and who was somewhere in Swaziland. Jet and Cord were unlucky enough to go to the wrong city... twice. We had a lot of Oh My Gravies this week.

WALMART PULLS THROUGH AGAIN

It's such a validating feeling when something you packed "just in case" actually saves your butt. For us, it was the $2 calculator we picked up at Wal-Mart. For Team Stallie this week, it was duct tape. During the leg, Steve rams their Mercedes into a curb, busting the bumper and causing the fender to be pressed against the tire (that's right, I know what a fender is). I totally recognized the look on Allie's face when the accident happens: "my dad's the worst driver in the world, and it will be the death of me". The team pulls over to check it out, only to find their fender in the shape of a snaggletooth. With no success from bending, pulling and twisting the broken piece, Steve remembers the duct tape his wife threw in his pack just before they left. The two maneuver the pieces into place, strap on some duct tape and are saved from elimination. From then on, they were really driving in style.

BAR AND BATMITZVAHS ALL AROUND

I think the funniest blip in this episode was Dan and Jordan talking about their crystal tower. I'll be the first to admit, it was quite the tower. Frankly, I'm impressed they were able to pull such a tough challenge off. Especially with the four single glasses stacked at the very top. Very "Empire State Building". This challenge gets my "cinematography award" with the shot of Jordan's face just behind the tower, watching as the champagne is poured. Give the camera guys an Emmy. Their tower building skills were enough to make me want to convert to Judaism, just so I could hire them for my Bar Mitzvah. Then again, I don't know if my runner-up winnings could afford their expensive services.

BRENT AND CAITE OOPS... AGAIN

In a secret scene for Episode 5, Brent and Caite discuss how they're great on the challenges but just can't seem to get the navigation part down. This week doesn't show much improvement. While searching for the Joan of Arc statue, Brent and Caite are shown just standing there, looking around aimlessly. Brent asks Caite if she wants to ask some locals passing by, and she says no. That one blew my mind (ALWAYS ASK THE LOCALS!). After the Roadblock, the team thinks they catch a break when they spot Carol and Brandy asking for directions. They follow the ladies to the pit-stop, only to realize they have once again skipped a clue. Not just a clue, the entire Detour. They're having a lot of trouble paying attention to detail, and they'll be the first to admit it. I'm very surprised they have avoided elimination with so many huge errors. Their race so far just proves how crucial the navigation aspect of the game is, and how much it helps to travel in packs. Maybe Caite can seek some spiritual guidance from Sir Joan of Arc.

CAROL'S SUPPORT

Brandy volunteers to do the Roadblock, only to find out it is yet again a heights challenge. She seems pretty pissed off at first (this is her third heights task - Carol's avoided them all), but puts her head down and gets the task done. As she is getting ready to enter the cave-o-bubbly, we hear Carol saying "you're gonna have so much fun!" Carol's motivation for such affirmation stuck out to me. While it looked like she was just trying to help her partner calm down, I think she was mostly just trying to keep her from transforming into Super Bitch. So far we've seen that Brandy and Carol can get a bit moody and have trouble recovering a good attitude once things go south. We all remember their G.I. Jane catastrophe of last episode. Don't get me wrong, I'm loving Team "The L Word"; but no one wants to be on a team with Cinderella when her horns come out. Dramafest Leg 6.... nicely avoided.

CONFIDENCE CAN KILL YOU

The most successful teams are the ones who can find a happy medium between playing it safe and taking a risk. Now that Joe's blatant arrogance is gone, a few teams have come out from behind his shadow as a little "cockier" than the other teams. First, Mike and Louie seem a little bit full of themselves. At the beginning of the leg, the detectives talk about how the other teams are "running around like chickens with their heads cut off" and the two are "just enjoying the amusement of these other teams". Be careful guys, that kind of confidence is the quickest way to overlook a HUGE, race-ending mistake. The second team exuding some extra ego is Brandy and Carol. When Caite and Brent follow them to the pit-stop, the ladies roll their eyes at the young couple's mistake, as if to say "ugh... stilly amateurs". The Detectives and Team L Word definitely have the most room to gloat based on their successful track records, but I really feel like their confidence will get the best of both of them.

JOE SCHMO

It seems everyone is quite pleased that Joe and Heidi are gone. In an extra clip, Mike and Louie talk about how the other teams were praising them for their bold U-Turn decision. Dan and Jordan even tell Phil they hoped the detectives got 1st again, probably for eliminating the one team they didn't like. Correction: the one GUY they didn't like - everyone was in love with Heidi. I think Joe's departure is going to mark a new attitude of friendship and alliance between some of the teams. In the end, I'm sure he's a great guy and is a wonderful father/husband when not on the race. For me, I'm just glad we don't have to hear about his knee anymore.

THIS AIN'T THE BIG BROTHER HOUSE

Despite the fact that I really enjoyed Jeff and Jordan's charming banter, it was definitely time for the newly dating couple to go. True, they made for good TV, but they've consistently struggled more than any other team. I now find myself surprised that Jordan never got lost going from the pool to the kitchen in the BB house. The team left the race with a good attitude, kind of giving off the "I'm so glad this is over" vibe as they chat with Phil for the last time. I think they were expecting the race to be a lot easier than it truly is, especially after their days of poolside drinking and relaxation in the BB house. The emotional drain may be equivalent between the two shows, but when you factor in the physical and mental exhaustion associated with TAR, it was too much for them. At least Jeff got to repel into a champagne cellar with Santa Claus.

I'm pretty excited about the remaining 6 teams. My final three picks are still in it (Steve/Allie, Dan/Jordan and Jet/Cord), and I'm still feeling pretty good about all of them. I think the confidence of the lesbians and the detectives will get the best of them, and let's be honest, Brent and Caite's lack of attention to detail isn't very promising. Next week is in gorgeous Seychelles, so I'm looking forward to a nice change in scenery. Ironically, this season's top six consists of three all male teams, two male/female teams and one all female team. Sound familiar?

The above recap of leg 6 by Sam of AR15 ( the previous season) is in my opinion the finest piece of writing/reporting by any Amazing racer in all the seasons of the Amazing Race. I don't agree with all his points (although for most of them I do), but they are succinct adn crisp so each reader can develop his own point of view on them. BRAVO, Sam!

Thanks, RealityFreakWill, for discovereing the mother lode and brining it to RFF.

We are halfway through The Amazing Race and the six remaining teams can smell “final three.”

On the seventh leg, the teams leave France on the same flight to the Seychelles Islands in the Indian Ocean. When they land on Mahe Island, they race to the Victoria Airport Heli-Pad and take helicopters one-by-one to La Digue Island. There, teams choose between Turtle Toddle (where they must lead 500 lb. sea tortoises to a finish line with bananas) and Ox Trot (where they must load hundreds of coconuts into a cart and drive it to a market). After a roadblock bottle-dive off the Cote d’Or, they must assemble a map that leads them to the pit stop on Praslin Island beach. The allure of the endgame means placements are shuffled as teams hustle.

This episode, Steve and Allie break Louie and Michael’s stranglehold on first place and claim that elusive victory. Dan and Jordan finally make their move successfully and prove they are a force to be reckoned with. But — spoiler alert — Jet and Cord lose an epic battle of mistakes with Carol and Brandy and fall to last place, but they are spared by a pre-determined non-elimination leg.

Now I love a leg filled with mistakes and this seventh leg did not disappoint: Steve and Allie lose their backpacks but are smart enough to have their passports on them. Brent and Caite lose a coconut and almost quit when they are sent back to complete the ox cart detour correctly. Carol and Brandy and Jet and Cord laugh at Brent and Caite’s stupidity and carelessness, then proceed to make the exact same mistake. While Jet and Cord recover quickly and leave Carol and Brandy in their dust, they lose their bottle at the road block and somehow forget they need a clue before they can run to the pit stop. They valiantly swim over 300 yards in the Indian Ocean to retrieve their bottle but inevitably fall to last place. Even so, I have nothing but admiration for a team that refuses to give up, stays supportive of each other, and is willing to swim across an ocean in the face of likely futility.

People are not perfect and mistakes are virtually guaranteed in high-stress situations. Every team starts even on the flight to the Seychelles, elevating tensions from the very beginning. And once the three “strong” teams (as Carol puts it) find themselves in the back, tensions are even further aggravated.

Going into our Race, Tammy and I knew we would make mistakes. The real task was making sure we could survive those mistakes. I have to applaud Steve and Allie for charging ahead despite leaving their backpacks behind and Jet and Cord for persevering after losing both coconuts and bottles. Given the fatigue, stress, and anxiety of the Race, I don’t fault any team for those lapses.

Rather, the week’s “biggest” mistake is one shared by Louie and Michael and Jet and Cord — getting their minds off the game when it comes to travel. When those teams go for food instead of checking in and getting seats in the front of the plane, they (and Carol and Brandy) wind up disembarking last and end up having to fight for their lives with an hour disadvantage. In that situation, any mistake presents a greater risk of elimination. I can empathize with Louie and Michael and Jet and Cord, though. After non-stop racing, you look for chances to let your guard down and take a break from the competition and food is always a welcome respite. But competitive racers need to be vigilant for every opportunity — otherwise other teams (Dan and Jordan and Brent and Caite) will pass you. A brief of moment of overconfidence left the three “strongest” teams (according to Carol) scrambling for survival.

Okay... so this week's episode of The Amazing Race was absolutely PHENOMENAL!!!! I honestly don't even know where to begin. I'll try not to point out the obvious reasons why this leg was so stellar (it was neck and neck the whole time, the location looked like my screen saver, etc.), but some things just have to be mentioned. This episode has the teams trekking all over the islands of The Seychelles, so let's jump right into my favorite moments.

THE NEXT CLAY AIKEN

Alright, so this first little tid-bit is insignificant and a bit silly, but I have to comment on Jordan's melodic narratives. Whether it's "we're going to Saycheleez" or "we've got a rainbow following us", I can't help but notice that a lot of his quotes are delivered in the spirit of song. As a music lover, I instinctively enjoy this charming little eccentricity. Will it last the rest of the race? Is he just practicing to try out for Lady Gaga back-up vocals? Did anyone else even notice it? I guess we'll have to see.

TAKE A NUMBER

The first clue of the leg tells the teams they'll be taking a number from a kiosk after the plane lands in The Seychelles. Jordan catches the detail and draws the correct conclusion: you have to book it off the plane to get a good number because it will determine the order in which you leaves for the next task. Sure enough, the last three teams (the detectives, the lesbians and the cowboys) discover they will be leaving an hour after the first three teams since they have ticket numbers 4, 5 and 6 respectively . Carol and Brandy's confidence shines through as they assert that "the strongest three teams are the last three to leave". (I'm guessing at this point every team is thinking "the strongest three teams are the detectives, the cowboys and us"). Turns out, the order in which teams arrive to the kiosk is almost exactly the same as the order in which they arrive to the pit-stop. This was huge, and just goes to show how important the smallest little details are. For example...

SPOTS ON A PLANE

While the title of this section may sound a lot like the movie that is arguably Samuel L. Jackson's greatest performance to date, it is actually a theme from this week's episode. Getting seats closest to the front of the plane seemed to be an obsession in my season. I still remember sprinting back and forth for at least twenty minutes through the airport in Riga, Latvia on our way from Estonia to Prague, trying to be the first ones to the ticket counter just so we could sit one row in front of the other teams. It was desperate, exhausting, embarrassing and exhilarating all at the same time. I friggin hated that part. Since the kiosk is only a short distance from where the plane lands, the three teams closest to the front of the plane (allowing them to de-board first) get the first three numbers. This puts them on the first three helicopters and an hour ahead of the last three teams. I think if the detectives and the cowboys had made the same observation as Jordan in France, they would have harassed the ticket counter people for seats closest to the front of the plane as soon as they got the chance. Instead, they grabbed a leisurely bite at the airport café. I loved that this came into play because it's the perfect example of how the littlest things can make the hugest difference on The Race.

NOT QUITE AESOP'S FABLES

So this week's Detour involved animals on both sides, pitting a >100 yr old tortoise against a pissed of ox. Animal challenges are greatly feared by racers, because you never know exactly how God's little creatures are going to treat you that day. Nothing would ruin this priceless experience like getting out because of an animal (just ask Ari and Staella from Season 12, eliminated in the first leg because of a stubborn ass... literally). Just like most of the remaining teams, Carol and Brandy's tortoise didn't want anything to do with the ladies and ran away as quickly as his chubby little legs could take him. On the other side of the Detour, Brent and Ciate's ox was slow as molasses (even though Brent said HEEYAAHHH about 2.7 million times). I honestly wonder who would win in a foot race: that ox or Louie. In the end, the top prize in this week's version of "The Seychelles' Funniest Animal Videos" (unfortunately, not hosted by Mario Lopez) definitely goes to Dan and Jordan's ox (a.k.a. Box The Ox), who must have popped four or five Ex-Lax before heading to work that day.

LEAVING THE BAGS BEHIND

I knew I loved Steve and Allie for a reason. After the Detour, the team begins the 1.5 mile hike for their next clue... without their bags. Truthfully, they were probably well aware of the fact that they didn't have their bags; sometimes it's unclear if you'll be returning to that spot and the clue included no specifics on what to do with the bags. Who knows, maybe Steve's shimmying for the locals threw them off. Upon realizing the other teams have their bags at the shore, the father/daughter duo debates whether they should go all the way back to get them or just consider the bags history. This is the coolest thing about The Race and the epitome of world travel in my opinion. There's a sense of freedom in traveling bare. You have no distractions, you can free your mind of all the petty possessions from your regular daily life, and all you're left with is the moment... which is more valuable than any make-up or clothes in the world. This is why I love Steve and Allie. They are willing to run the rest of The Race wearing only board shorts and a banana covered tank-top. I must admit, I felt like a proud father when they chose to go full steam ahead. I'm curious to see if they are smart enough next week to stop by the spot after the leg begins and see if their bags are still there. You can't go looking for them between pit-stop and pit-start, but once the next leg begins, it's fair game. Who knows, maybe they'll need the duct tape again.

WE'RE DONE, WE'RE DONE

It seems these two words make up one of the most commonly uttered phrases on the race. When something goes wrong (sometimes horribly wrong), your first reaction is "there's no possible way we can recover from this". It's like the feeling you get ten minutes into any Tara Reid movie. This week, we hear it most forcefully from Carol/Brandy and Brent/Caite as soon as the poor innocent coconut collector tells them they don't have enough coconuts. Brent threatens to quit, obviously disheveled by yet another missed detail. Carol and Brandy also appear quite defeated, understandable considering the other Detour option (Turtle Toddle) failed them as well. Ironically (or perhaps not) these two teams seem to have the most drama going on around them. They're without a doubt the most volatile teams, which isn't necessarily a bad thing in my opinion. Just an observation. Each moment of the race is filled with such desperation, any false step feels like your last. You just have to realize that the best thing it to just buckle down and GET IT DONE!!! You're going to anyways, so you might as well not waste time overreacting. In the end, as we see with both of these teams this week, you're usually fine.

WHY DOES EVERYONE HATE THE LESBIANS?

It's pretty obvious that most the remaining teams want Carol and Brandy out. I think a little bit of that is because they're a strong team, but an even more significant reason is that they're making enemies. Caite keeps referring to them as "the mean lesbians", constantly referring to their comment about her tiara in the airport. That's weird, because I thought women DIDN'T hold grudges. I think it's clear that they need to be kissing butt a lot more considering the fact that the U-turn was used against Joe and Heidi for PERSONAL reasons, and there's a good chance the teams will run into another U-Turn before the finish line. Jet and Cord don't like them because of a lack in "genuine friendliness", while Mike and Louie say it's because the ladies exude a "negative energy". I'm not saying you should become blood brothers and sisters with the other teams, but making enemies is a very sneaky poison on the race course. I still love Team L Word, so hopefully the constant references to their "unpopularity" aren't foreshadowing a tragic coup.

NO BAGS, NO MERCY

So Steve and Allie's helicopter prayers paid off as they come in first this leg. And their consolation prize is pretty awesome to boot: dinner and a massage on the beach, a lifetime supply of 7Up, and $7K each. The clip leading up to their success really cracked me up. We see Steve and Allie running around trying to find Phil at the pit-stop. As in all TAR episodes, they make it look like Dan and Jordan are close on their tails and the 1st place prize could be anyone's. I have to say, this part of this particular episode looked more like a scene from a bad horror film. You know the type... when the teenager is running from the monster who is walking but still seems to make up ground. Allie is running around the side of a pool, saying "we gotta hurry!" and "I feel like I'm going to faint!" Quick - cut to a shot of Dan and Jordan wading up to the beach in slow motion, eyes glazed over. It was very "Creatures From The Seychelles Lagoon". Think I'm crazy? Watch that part again, you'll see.

A big congrats to Steve and Allie, what a great prize for a great duo. They've been consistently at the top and I think they're going to stay there. Hopefully the fact that their bags are now property of Tommy the Tortoise won't slow them down too much. Team Wranglers came in last but were saved as this was a predetermined non-elimination leg. They really struggled this week: seats on the back of the plane, last helicopter out, left a coconut in the Detour, left the map on the boat a mile from shore... I think you get my point. We'll see if they redeem themselves next week, despite the added stress of a Speed Bump. Next week takes place in Malaysia (so jealous, it was on my Top 3 list before our race started), so I'm really excited to see what happens!

Next week, I'll be featuring guest commentary from some fellow Season 15 Racers, so be sure to tune in and see their reactions to Episode 8 and Season 16 as a whole.

Sam's review of episode 7 are incisive and I find them easily the best around. He caused me to ponder why Steve and Allie left their bags behind. It might be that they did not want to carry them in addition to a 20 pound banana bunch, but when they were on the boat it seemed to me that they had just realized they were headed somewhere that would make it unlikely they would be able to return to retrieve them. However, having their passports and money made it possible for them to make a choice of "Go Back" or "Not Go Back." In Amazing Race 14 in the Bangkok episode (#8), both Mark/Michael and Kisha/Jen made the mistake of leaving their bags behind AND leaving their passports behind. Neither team had a choice, although they did not realize that until inability to be checked in by Phil at the pit stop.

I do disagree with Sam on whether Steve and Allie can go back to LaDigue to retrieve their bags. I doubt it. here's why:1. They will be released from the pit stop and need some form of transportation off of Praslin island. That transportation will be set up to take them to the Seychelles International Airport on Victoria island which is about 30 miles away from La Digue. They may have time to go back there, but probably would not and even if they wanted to they might have already written off the clothes and intend to replace them wherever they can. We know that they will need cold-weather gear for upcoming legs, but they do not know that at that point.

On the eighth leg of The Amazing Race, the six remaining teams race from the Seychelles Islands to Penang, Malaysia. At the Snake Temple in Bayan Lepas, teams had to choose between a Buddhist Tradition of running towering incense burners up the steep steps of a temple or a Chinese custom of running while balancing flagpoles on your head. Once the task was complete, and one team member completed a coconut-smashing ritual at the Koil Sri Singamuga Kaliamman Temple, teams made their way to the pit stop at Pining Peranakan Mansion.

Jet and Cord, who previously finished last, started with a distinct disadvantage and had to complete an extra task, identifying tea by sense of smell. But with good decision-making, teamwork and humor, they went from last place to first, blowing away all the other teams by a wide margin. The former first and second place leaders went the other direction and battled each other to avoid elimination, and in this leg — spoiler alert! — Dan and Jordan survived but Steve and Allie’s run came to an end.

What happened? The bottom two teams put themselves there because of one bad decision. Steve and Allie, Dan and Jordan, and Louie and Michael all faced the same dilemma as they sat in traffic on the way to Thnee Kong Thua Temple. Steve and Allie and Dan and Jordan abandoned their taxis and proceeded on foot. Louie and Michael see them but decide to stay put, which ended up being the much better choice.

Go on foot or stay in the car? That conundrum not only defined the outcome of this leg but it highlights a dilemma every racer faces. When things are not going as planned, do you quit what you are doing or do you stay put?

Admittedly, it is easy to judge the decision to abandon the taxis with the benefit of hindsight and the calm of the living room, but I do think we can find fault for two reasons. First, Steve and Allie and Dan and Jordan didn’t know where they were running to in the first place. It is one thing to race ahead on foot when you see the destination; it is quite another when you can get hopelessly lost. Second, there was no reason to race ahead since there were two other teams in sight. Even if the three teams were falling behind the others, it is more important to prevent elimination than to race recklessly ahead. There is safety in numbers. The decision to leave the taxi put both Dan and Jordan and Steve and Allie in jeopardy. But Steve and Allie’s fate was sealed by another decision involving quitting.

Stay on task or try another? When Steve and Allie could not find the location of the Buddhist Tradition detour task, Steve opted to go to the Chinese Custom task. That I don’t have an issue with. But once they got there, Allie saw what they have to do, thought it was too difficult, and implored her father to go back and search for the other location. Steve relented, and that decision to quit the second task proved most fatal.

No matter how difficult the task seemed to be, the team should not have quit. I personally think Allie did not give herself enough credit. Jet struggled with the flag-balancing task but was able to learn it rather quickly. Even if Allie took much longer to learn, the flag task was faster by far. More importantly, it probably took Steve and Allie 15 to 20 minutes to get to the task. To backtrack puts them at least 30 minutes behind Dan and Jordan. It is unlikely Steve and Allie could ever catch up to Dan and Jordan with that type of time deficit. Their only chance at survival was to stay put, gut it out, and conquer the Chinese Custom task. Even so, Steve and Allie did their best and finished with grace.

Victor is clearly right that the decision by Steve/Allie to switch to Chinese Custom DETOUR after having inadvertently gone to Buddhist Tradition first (having stated originally that they were going to Chinese Custom). I disagree that Allie was "tough enough" to have done that flag carry. She attempted it and clearly did not have adequate balance to pull it over. This was one of the most interesting contrasts of DETOURS is any Amazing Race. Chinese Custom was super-fast IF you were agile enough to have superb balance. I will add that it is not at all clear that Steve could have finished that. It was not for every team to complete, but if they could, teams got the huge advantage Jet/Cord enjoyed. This was the "Hare" DETOUR while Buddhist Tradition was the "Tortoise" DETOUR.

Victor is clearly right that the decision by Steve/Allie to switch to Chinese Custom DETOUR after having inadvertently gone to Buddhist Tradition first (having stated originally that they were going to Chinese Custom). I disagree that Allie was "tough enough" to have done that flag carry. She attempted it and clearly did not have adequate balance to pull it over. This was one of the most interesting contrasts of DETOURS is any Amazing Race. Chinese Custom was super-fast IF you were agile enough to have superb balance. I will add that it is not at all clear that Steve could have finished that. It was not for every team to complete, but if they could, teams got the huge advantage Jet/Cord enjoyed. This was the "Hare" DETOUR while Buddhist Tradition was the "Tortoise" DETOUR.

"Our fans are pretty good. They don't give away too much. Sometimes people love dropping spoilers, but our fans are good. They tend to do it in such a way that doesn't ruin it for fans who don't want to know."--Phil Keoghan

Let me get this clear, Peach - You are asking that a post that does not meet your apparent normal parameters for what is OK is indeed OK if and only if it is written by a racer (Victor in this case), but not if it is an RFF member commenting on Victor's post. If I don't have that quite right, could you please be clear on what you mean?

"Our fans are pretty good. They don't give away too much. Sometimes people love dropping spoilers, but our fans are good. They tend to do it in such a way that doesn't ruin it for fans who don't want to know."--Phil Keoghan

A personal story: ice cream sandwiches! Singapore is a really humid country--it's pretty humid even in December, when the monsoon rains traditionally begin. Oddly, ice cream isn't much of a biggie there (at least according to one Singaporean over at RFF). I do remember having one of their ice cream wafer sandwiches, though. There are stalls in the city center than serve these things: it only costs S$1 and comes in flavors such as taro, durian and sweet potato. Some even use actual (and colorful) bread!

The eighth leg of The Amazing Race Season 16 was in full blast this past Sunday night, so I'm bringing in back-up! This week, we'll hear from Brian (of Brian and Ericka) along with Meghan and Cheyne, providing an extra dose of Season 15 brainwaves. This episode took the Teams from The Seychelles to Penang, Malaysia via over 30 hours of travel through Dubai. The first clue awaits The Racers at The Snake Temple, sending them to the Detour. After the Detour, teams head to the Roadblock where a Speed Bump awaits Jet and Cord. The teams are relieved that the Pit-Stop comes right after that, marking the end of this grueling leg. Let's hear from Brian first, followed by Meghan and Cheyne, and wrapped up by yours truly.

WORDS FROM BRIANAnything and everything can happen on the Race and, this past Sunday, anything and everything did happen. Last went to first and first went to last. If there's one thing that Ericka and I learned on the Race, it was to stay with the pack if you're lost. It is better to be lost with a group than to be lost on your own. Steve and Allie found themselves trying to pull away from the group and they wound up lost by themselves which cost them. There was a time in our season that everyone was lost in Cambodia and Ericka and I decided to break away from the group and find our own way. Big mistake. We just found ourselves more lost with no other teams in sight. A wise man once told me, "If a group of people is being chased by a bear in the woods, all you have to do is run faster than the slowest person and you'll be fine." Same is true with the race...stay with the pack, get lost together, find your way together, and last one to Phil gets eaten by the elimination bear.

MEGHAN AND CHEYNE'S TWO CENTSYou can learn a little something from every episode of the Amazing Race. Last Sunday's wild goose chase showcased a few tips to remember when you're out there racing for your dreams. So for those of you who are hoping to race in the future or are crossing your fingers for a washed-up racer reunion season like we are, take note!

Here are the top three lessons learned from this episode:

If you catch yourself saying "We have the best cab driver in all of (insert location here)" then by all means do everything in your power to keep him for the rest of the leg! Team Jor-Dan realized this mistake real quick when their second cab driver leisurely stopped for gas on the way to the detour after they had let their Malaysian version of Jeff Gordon get away right after getting their initial clue. We always found this to be a little difficult because you never know how long the task will take, but we learned that you can always go back and ditch your driver if you need to. We think these guys are smart enough to not make the same mistake twice. Lesson learned: KEEP THE CRAZY CABBIES!

Sometimes people race better under pressure- just ask Brian and Ericka from our season. Though the cowboys are used to a lot of tight situations in their boot-cut Levi's, they handled the pressure of the speed bump like champions. It was refreshing to see the mixture of positivity and intensity these two portrayed while they had to complete one more challenge than all the other teams. You can let a speed bump dwarf your optimism or you can use it to your advantage and let it light a fire under your ass. Lesson learned: MAKE A SPEED BUMP A SPEED BOOST.

When you're playing a sport your coach may tell you to focus on your strategy rather than how big and scary the other team looks. This episode showed us that this mentality should be carried over onto the race course. Brent and Caite and the Cardio Kings shared their disgust for Carol and Brandy at the beginning of the leg and hoped to see a U-turn sign once they arrived in Penang. At each task, the models compared themselves to the girls- whether they couldn't believe Carol and Brandy beat them to the roadblock or how they were proud to smoke them at the detour. Regardless of what happened along the leg, Carol and Brandy got to stand in front of Phil first when it really mattered. During our season, we learned quickly not to waste time sizing up the competition (including all 13 ½ feet of the Globetrotters) and we focused on our game play. Lesson learned: TAKE ON THE RACE NOT THE RACERS.

All in all, these teams have learned a handful of lessons along their journey and we have to say that the remaining racers all deserve to be there. Stay tuned to Sammy's blog to find out what the Amazing Race will teach us next week!

Okay, me again...

CARDIOMAN

So this season's version of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde showed up again this leg. I'm talking (of course) about Louie's alter ego, Cardioman. About halfway through the incense challenge, Louie goes into a fit of coughing, gagging, choking and probably a little farting at the same time. My original reaction of "oh gosh, not again" was overcome by a sudden feeling of bummerness when I realized what the poor guy must have been going through. Imagine scaling a hundred stairs multiple times in >100° dead heat while choking to even breathe. That's enough to make you pass out cold. What a total "Race buzz kill". Nonetheless, I still had to roll my eyes a little at the return of Cardioman.

THE "MEAN LESBIANS"

Before the teams even leave The Seychelles, we see Mike and Louie having a little powwow with Brent and Caite. Obviously getting along swimmingly, the teams unanimously agree that Carol is the "serpent" of the season. Mike even goes as far to say that he's trained his "wolf cubs" (Brent and Ciate) to U-Turn the only remaining female team if given the chance. Good move by Mike and Louie (that's one fewer team they need to worry about U-Turning them), but it presents a question in my mind. What on Earth could Carol and Brandy have done to deserve such degradation? Correct me if I'm wrong, but wasn't it Carol who encouraged Mike on the stairs at the Detour, saying "Mike, you're a Rockstar"? That doesn't seem too "mean" to me. There's always going to be some behind the scenes that we the audience don't see, but coming from one of the "bickering brothers", I think I've heard enough of the label "mean lesbians". I'm really enjoying the ladies this season, and I'm sorry to see that everyone is ganging up on them so much. In fact, I find them quite lovely. To quote Chris Crocker, "Leave them alone!".

STAYING POSITIVE

A lot of teams had some very discouraging moments this week. The one that takes the cake for me is when Dan and Jordan get lost after ditching their cab on the way to the Detour. We see them running up and down a hill with no cabs in sight, frantically trying to find the temple, or at least someone who knew where it is. When their short lived attempt at jumping into Steve and Allie's cab fails, their expressions turn to pure devastation. This must have been a complete nightmare for the brothers. It's hot, you're lost and even worse, you're on foot. In what must have been their darkest moment of the race so far, they just kept their hopes up and persisted. I know I've said it before, but staying positive is super important because you never know when another team is even more screwed than you are. In this case, Steve and Allie.

GOOD COCONUT HANDLING SKILLS

The Roadblock this week reminded me a lot of what I personally consider my finest hour: the hay bale challenge in Sweden. The teams arrive at the Roadblock after an intense session of incense carrying, undoubtedly in the most exhausted physical state of their lives. For Jet and Carol, finding the colored coconut took quite some time and a lot of innocent coconuts were sacrificed. Louie, on the other hand, finds brightly colored milk in the second one he smashes. Total luck of the draw. The image of Brian finding a flag in a hay bale before me still haunts my dreams. He unrolled a handful, while I unrolled upwards of 80 bales. I'm just glad Carol finished before Louie had his lucky break because there's nothing worse than being passed on The Race while doing a challenge like this. Factor in the physical exhaustion? That's a recipe for some very choice words and a few flying birdies.

AN ODE TO TEAM STALLIE

So my beloved father/daughter team found Malaysia to be the last stop on their Race. I'm incredibly proud of these guys and I think they really ran a great Race. They consistently finished near the front, they had great attitudes and Steve is hilarious to boot. I think the saddest part for me is that I was really excited to watch them run a few legs without their backpacks. The fact that they didn't go back for them in The Seychelles was one of the coolest things ever, so I wish they could have enjoyed that decision a little longer. We can see that they already had a great bond, but I think it's obvious that the Race brought them even closer together. I always say the one thing that is guaranteed to make me cry is seeing a grown man crying. Thanks to Steve, I had to tell everyone in the room that my eyes were watering up merely because of my allergies. My hat is off to Team Stallie, they will be missed not only by me, but by most TAR fans.

This leg was full of interesting little tidbits. It was the first time a team has overcome a Speed Bump and arrived in first place. Seriously, the cowboys could do no wrong this leg. The flag challenge was perfect for them (low to the ground, quick feet, good balance), and they finish it long before most teams even got to the site of the other Detour. They kicked butt and the best part is... they did it in jeans! Cord gets the "Sweaty McSweaterson" award; at one point in the taxi there's sweat literally flying off of his face at Mach 3 speeds. Another weird little tid-bit is that this week's finish order was a complete mirror image to last week's. Last week's 1-2-3-4-5-6 turned into this week's 6-5-4-3-2-1. Who knew Malaysia was the twilight zone? Anyways, I was sad to see Stallie go, but I'm glad Dan and Jordan are still in it. There were definitely the last two teams I wanted to see fighting for 5th this leg. Next week is in Singapore, and the previews show Dan and Jordan attempting a gnarly heights challenge. And, of course, we're in for some drama between Brent/Caite and Carol/Brandy. Can't we all just get along!?

THE Singapore Flyer and other landmarks will get an airing on international TV when the latest episode of the American reality TV show The Amazing Race airs.

For the second time, the award-winning CBS show included Singapore in the race. The segment will be shown on Sunday night in the United States and in Singapore on Monday.

Mr Bertram van Munster, executive producer and co-creator of the show, who was in town on Saturday for a media briefing, said the Singapore leg would be 'very exciting' with 'a lot of fireworks between teams and within teams'.

On why Singapore was chosen as a pitstop again, he said: 'We haven't been here in a long time. In the meantime, the city has transformed itself tremendously. So it was almost like looking at a new city.' It was also logical to stop by as the teams had to complete a leg in Penang, Malaysia, just before the Singapore leg.

The filming here took place in mid-December but the planning took several months. The production team worked closely with the Singapore Tourism Board (STB) to pull the show off.

The show, which is now into its 16th season, premiered on Feb 14. The race began in Los Angeles with 11 teams and five teams - including a pair of cowboys from Oklahoma and two detectives from Rhode Island - were left in the race during the Singapore leg. The winning couple gets US$1 million.

At least they got the STB this time instead of freaking Mediacorp.

Logged

Found out that Neobie in Chinese means "f*king awesome"! No, really. Look it up!

"Our fans are pretty good. They don't give away too much. Sometimes people love dropping spoilers, but our fans are good. They tend to do it in such a way that doesn't ruin it for fans who don't want to know."--Phil Keoghan

I am responding to mswood's argument that 60 Minutes is less valuable to CBS than the Amazing Race is. Well, as the Geico man says (with a little poetic license by me) "do statistics lie of course they can be manipulated)? Do the statistics that are endlessly quoted on other threads of team rankings mean anything? why are the ratings systems so complicated that anyone can pretty much get a very wide range of different conclusions from them (ah, now that's the really important question)." So, here are some statistics that I would use if I were the head of CBS: